The nominative is the basic form of the noun. The most common usage of the noun is as a subject of the sentence.
Partitive
The partitive has the ending -a, -ä, or -ta, -tä. Occasionally, the ending causes changes in the stem, e.g.:
| Nominative | Partitive | |
|---|---|---|
| nen-words : | amerikkalainen | --> amerikkalaista |
| si-words : | vuosi 'year' uusi 'new' vesi 'water' |
--> vuotta --> uutta --> vettä |
| e-words | perhe 'family' huone 'room' |
--> perhettä --> huonetta |
The basic meaning of the partitive sing. is indefinite quantity, corresponding to 'some,' 'any', or a noun without an article in English. However, the partitive is used with several other functions as well. For example, greetings, wishes and exclamations are in the partitive:
| Huomenta. Päivää. Hyvää yötä. Hyvää joulua! Onnellista Uutta Vuotta. |
Another major use of partitives is after cardinal numbers:
| kaksi autoa kolme vuotta 5 miljoonaa suomalaista 30 markkaa viisi banaania |
The partitive is also used in the object position after certain verbs:
| Janne rakastaa Annea Marja soittaa pianoa Matti pelaa jalkapalloa |
Last reviewed: Jan 25, 2004.
Please send comments to: prentz@westminstercollege.edu